Nbmonte, another machine shop guy here.
The issue with buying a used lathe is that being a newb to lathes you don't really know what to look for. Any used machine will have SOME wear. The trick is knowing how much is too much. And how to test or inspect a number of other things to find out if there's "issues".
I'm also in the camp that says to avoid the older machines with wide flat belt cone pulleys like that Hendey. Lots of fun if you're a tinkering sort of guy. But not the way to go if you just want a useable tool to get on with it. In terms of being more modern and reliable and serviceable the Harrison or a Standard Modern or other brands of similar design and age are going to be far more suitable to your goals. But there again it depends on what sort of use it saw in the past. Hours alone doesn't matter as a well oiled and maintained machine can be good despite literally tens of thousands of hours of use. But a machine that was used without care might well be junk in just a few hundred hours. Again the trick is in the knowledge to know what to look for and what to bring along to test inspect the machine before buying.
You don't need to go TOO large but you do want to go large and heavy enough. Remember that the "length" is given as plain center to plain center. Add a chuck and live center and the 24, 36 or 40" capacity on length drops by a good size chunk in a hurry. And if you wish to be able to profile barrel blanks you'll likely find that a 24 inch length capacity turns out to be on the short side for some barrel work options. So better to go with a 36" model to cover that.
If you're looking at new to avoid all the potential servicing issues you might have a look at KBC tools. They have a 12x36 for $5K that looks decent enough for a home hobby gunsmithing lathe. Some will say that the 14x40 is a far better machine. And they are right, it is. But it's also $7K or $9.5K depending on which of them you look at.
https://www.kbctools.ca/itemdetail/6-125-063
When I look at US prices I see the same lathe on sale for $5K US at Precision Matthews. So $5K Canadian from KBC is actually pretty decent.
My own lathe is a 12x36 belt head model from the early 90's. And no, I'm not suggesting this size just because it is what I use. I'm suggesting it because if bolted down to a really good base to make it more than it can be while sitting on tin boxes the machine is good enough to do the jobs you want to do. And it'll do it on a little less of a sticker price. But if the extra $2500 (allowing for taxes) for the lower model 14x40 doesn't scare you then by all means go for it. But I would look into getting an online manual for it first to see if the quick change box has to use a lot of gearing changes under the end cover or if it allows for the full range of thread and feed options off the four hand dials. That can get old pretty quickly. The 12x36 I gave the link for above has a proper quick change gear box so all the imperial threading options along with feeds are directly accessed.
The issue with buying a used lathe is that being a newb to lathes you don't really know what to look for. Any used machine will have SOME wear. The trick is knowing how much is too much. And how to test or inspect a number of other things to find out if there's "issues".
I'm also in the camp that says to avoid the older machines with wide flat belt cone pulleys like that Hendey. Lots of fun if you're a tinkering sort of guy. But not the way to go if you just want a useable tool to get on with it. In terms of being more modern and reliable and serviceable the Harrison or a Standard Modern or other brands of similar design and age are going to be far more suitable to your goals. But there again it depends on what sort of use it saw in the past. Hours alone doesn't matter as a well oiled and maintained machine can be good despite literally tens of thousands of hours of use. But a machine that was used without care might well be junk in just a few hundred hours. Again the trick is in the knowledge to know what to look for and what to bring along to test inspect the machine before buying.
You don't need to go TOO large but you do want to go large and heavy enough. Remember that the "length" is given as plain center to plain center. Add a chuck and live center and the 24, 36 or 40" capacity on length drops by a good size chunk in a hurry. And if you wish to be able to profile barrel blanks you'll likely find that a 24 inch length capacity turns out to be on the short side for some barrel work options. So better to go with a 36" model to cover that.
If you're looking at new to avoid all the potential servicing issues you might have a look at KBC tools. They have a 12x36 for $5K that looks decent enough for a home hobby gunsmithing lathe. Some will say that the 14x40 is a far better machine. And they are right, it is. But it's also $7K or $9.5K depending on which of them you look at.
https://www.kbctools.ca/itemdetail/6-125-063
When I look at US prices I see the same lathe on sale for $5K US at Precision Matthews. So $5K Canadian from KBC is actually pretty decent.
My own lathe is a 12x36 belt head model from the early 90's. And no, I'm not suggesting this size just because it is what I use. I'm suggesting it because if bolted down to a really good base to make it more than it can be while sitting on tin boxes the machine is good enough to do the jobs you want to do. And it'll do it on a little less of a sticker price. But if the extra $2500 (allowing for taxes) for the lower model 14x40 doesn't scare you then by all means go for it. But I would look into getting an online manual for it first to see if the quick change box has to use a lot of gearing changes under the end cover or if it allows for the full range of thread and feed options off the four hand dials. That can get old pretty quickly. The 12x36 I gave the link for above has a proper quick change gear box so all the imperial threading options along with feeds are directly accessed.
